


sunshine & rainbows

by flypaper_brain



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, POV Ben Solo, Reylo - Freeform, Reylo babies, parenting
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-25
Updated: 2018-06-25
Packaged: 2019-05-28 06:15:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,323
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15042569
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flypaper_brain/pseuds/flypaper_brain
Summary: Ben Solo woke up this morning and went about his day as he would any other.....until all Hell broke loose that afternoon.





	sunshine & rainbows

**Author's Note:**

> The first of a multi-chapter Modern Reylo AU --aka-- a story in which I process my real life parenting related traumas by inflicting them on my favorite fictional characters. This was inspired by a Tumblr discussion about how Ben Solo would handle the yucky and stressful parts of being a father and my imagination ran away with it. If you're squeamish about typical baby/toddler/kid behavior, this is not the story for you. There will be potty-training, breastfeeding, sleep deprivation, really icky surprises, and more. Flee for your life if any of this grosses you out, or stay for the black and bitter humor that one must adopt when one becomes a parent. Currently rated T, but the rating may go up if I can work up the nerve. Please feel free to commiserate with me in the comments, or you can find me on Tumblr @flypaper-brain

Ben Solo woke up this morning and went about his day as he would any other. He indulged in a quick snuggle with his wife before going for his morning run, managed to shower without slipping on the stray bath toys his children had left out the evening before, and made breakfast for himself and his two little daughters before kissing his family goodbye and heading to work. Friday had finally arrived after a grueling week at his architectural firm and he was eager for a lazy weekend at home with all three of his girls.

 

The day went shockingly well and Ben was ecstatic to leave the office early. The client he had been working with was the most persistently annoying individual he’d ever had the displeasure of meeting in his entire life, though he couldn’t help but admire the man’s attention to detail. Mr. Hux had been extremely involved in the design process for his new home, often making changes at the very last minute. Ben lost count of how many times they had to reconfigure the placement of doors, outlets, and light switches in order to please this man, but the project was finally coming to a close. As of 3:42 this afternoon, Hux was officially someone else’s problem and God help the unfortunate soul who had agreed to be his interior designer.

 

He was just about to call his wife to let her know he’d be home early when his phone rang, Rey’s personal ringtone sounding in the air. He smiled at the coincidence -- sometimes he could swear that their minds were supernaturally linked -- and answered the call. His ears were greeted with the sound of much wailing. This was a frequent issue when they tried to communicate via phone, their children seeming to take an almost sadistic delight in preventing their parents from having a simple conversation. He could hear Eleanor and Iris screeching in the background as Rey raised her voice to be heard over the noise.

 

“Shhhh, you two. Mommy needs to talk to Papa for a minute…..Ben? Are you there?”, she shouts, sounding utterly drained.

 

“I’m here, Sweetheart. I was just picking up the phone to call you, actually. The client from hell officially signed off on the plans this afternoon and I’m coming home early. Thought maybe we could see if my mom can take the girls overnight so you and I can have some time alone. Should I go ahead and give Mom a call?” He’s already making a mental checklist of things he wants to do with his wife without the company of their ten month old and three year-old daughters. It’s a very long list and he is eager to get started. 

 

“As wonderful as that sounds, I don’t think it would be fair to inflict these two banshees on your poor mom tonight. Iris has a fever and I’ve spent the day being her personal milk-dispensing jungle gym. Ellie has been in a foul mood since you left this morning and is refusing to sit on the potty, but won’t keep her hands out of her pants…..I think she might have another UTI….hang on…..” Rey puts the phone down while she checks on a suddenly silent Ellie. 

  
  
  


Ben is disappointed to hear that his plans for time alone with his wife have been thwarted, but his heart sinks when he hears that the girls are unwell. Ellie is a papa’s girl and has always been happy to let Ben tend to her every need, but Iris...not so much, especially when she’s not feeling well. She loves her papa and adores his company when all is right with her little world, but when she’s sick or teething she seems to regard him as some sort of villainous stranger who is out to make her life unbearable. He tries not to take it personally, she is a baby after all, but it still stings sometimes. The most frustrating part about it is that he can’t really do anything to give Rey a break from having a clingy, cranky toddler attached to her body all the time. His wife is a goddamn superhero to put up with it all. 

 

“ELEANOR ORGANA SOLO, go wash your hands right now!” 

 

Uh-oh. This can’t be good. 

 

“Fuck! I can’t believe she did it again….” 

 

He can hear Rey swearing to herself as she picks the phone back up. He’s not sure if he wants to know what happened.

 

“Is everything ok?”

 

She lets out a huge sigh before answering. “Yes. No. I’ll live, but I really don’t appreciate Eleanor doing tactile experiments with the contents of her wet pull-up. AGAIN”, Rey says with disgust. “I put her back in pull-ups today since she’s refusing to use the toilet, but I honestly wish I’d just left her naked. Puddles are easier to clean up than pee-soaked diaper gel.”

 

Oh, God. It’s been THAT kind of day and he is torn between wanting to rush home to help and wanting to stay in his office and hide. But he does the right thing.

 

“I’m so sorry, Baby. I’m leaving right now and will be home as soon as I can. Do you need me to get anything on the way?”, he asks as he heads for his car.

 

“Actually, that’s why I called you. We’re out of baby ibuprofen and diaper rash cream and I’m not going to make it through the night without them. And could you pick up some nipple ointment for me? Baby girl has been gnawing on me all day and my tits are toast. It’s the one in the purple tube, remember?”, she reminds him.

 

Like he could ever forget that oily stuff that smells like sheep and leaves a greasy stain on everything it comes in contact with. Ben had hoped he would never have to smell it again, now that the newborn days were behind them; the smell of it haunted his dreams and his nostrils for weeks after their girls were born and he saw what their tiny little piranha mouths did to do to his wife’s beautiful nipples. He appreciates Rey’s dedication to breastfeeding their children for as long as possible, he really does, but he eagerly awaits the day when he can resume his proper place as the household’s Supreme Leader of Breast Appreciation.

 

“Ok, baby ibuprofen, rash cream, nipple ointment, got it. I’ll pick up something for dinner as well. Any requests?” he asks as he starts the car and heads straight for the nearest pharmacy. 

 

“Anything but Thai. Iris will go absolutely bonkers if I eat anything too spicy tonight, so anything in the realm of bland will do just fine, but maybe--”, a loud thud interrupted her sentence. “Ben, I have to go investigate that noise, so just get anything you wa--”. Interrupted again by some unseen event, the last thing Ben hears before he hears her phone clatter to the floor is a sharp “ELLIE, STOP!”. 

 

He hangs on the line for a bit to make sure nothing truly catastrophic has happened and hears the unmistakable sound of Ellie’s little feet running past Rey’s dropped phone as she giggles to herself about whatever mischief she’d just perpetrated. Ben takes this as proof that it was now safe to hang up, and laughing to himself at the mental image of his tiny daughter streaking through the house like a pint-sized Godzilla, he cuts the call and tries to think of somewhere to quickly procure “bland” food after the trip to the pharmacy. He wonders if a side trip to the liquor store might not be a bad idea. He senses it’s going to be a very long weekend and a little bourbon probably couldn’t hurt, but he decides to forgo it since Rey can’t have anything alcoholic due to breastfeeding. If she can do this completely sober, so will he. 

**Author's Note:**

> This story is almost entirely autobiographical. I have BEEN THERE and DONE THAT, and I will happily wear the t-shirt if it makes anyone feel less alone. Thanks for reading!


End file.
